Play pen



p 931- DE FOREST ANTHONY ET AL 1,322,876

I PLAY PEN Filed June 8, 1929 Jiweaahr' pfiar'wl Wzellao 1M. SZ WPatented Sept. 15, 1931 a; rezaaie UNITED STATES PATENT orr esMASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO DOROTHY DEWEY GOMSTOCK, OF DEDHAM, MAS-SAGHUSETTS, DOING BUSINESS AS THE KIDDIE-RHESTER CO. d

PLAY PEN Application filed m. s, 1929. Serial No.- 369,299.

This invention relates to portable play pens for infants, and pertainsmore particularly to means for sustaining in upright posit on a foldablebaby pen of the type disclosed 1n the patent to Dorothy D. GomstoclcNo.1,453,459 dated July 31, 1923. Theprinclpal ob ect of the invention isto provide a pen having bottom rails provided with bracing membersmovable outwardly in opposite directlons to 1 support the extended penagainst tilting, and movable in reverse direction to lie wlthm theconfines of the folded pen.

Further objects reside in the structural features of the deviceshereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich: 7 i

Fig. 1 is a top view of an extended play pen equipped with the improvedbraces;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged corner detail of the structure: and V Fig. 3 is afragmentary end vlew of the pen shown in Fig. 1. to smaller scale.

" As more fully described in said patent.

the play pen maycomprise a number of s1m1- lar sections 11. 12, 13, 14,15 and 16. each 1ncluding longitudinal rails 17 at the ton and bottomand connecting bars or spindles 18. the sections being nivotallyinterconnected as b hinges 19 to form a rectangular enclosure whenextended. and to fold into parallel iuxtaposed relation when the pen iscollapsed. The abutting ends of the sections meeting at a separablecorner of the extended pen mav be secured by separable fasteningmembers. as at 20.

In accordance with the present invention. the bottom rail of each of theend sect ons is preferably formed with a longitudinal base slot 21 andwith a slot 22 in the outer side of the rail on each side of its center.The s de slots intersect the slot 21 and man be senarated from eachother or may constitute a continuous openin preferablv' terminatingshort of the rail ends. When the rail is made of wood. a trough-shapedmetal cas n '23 is preferably applied overthe bottom of the ra l andsecured bvsuitable fastening means. such as the tacks 24. so that thecasing provides a bottom wall for the slot 21 and reinforces the rail..A. pair of aligned slots .25, in registration with the slot or slots22, are provided in the outer side wall of the casing.

7 An elongate brace 26, preferably formed of a stout metal rod, isslidably received within each open end of the slot or groove 21, and 5said rods carry actuating knobs 27 having stems projecting through andguided by the registering side slots 22 and 25 of the rail and casingrespectively. The knobs may be detachably aflixed to the rods 26 byscrew- 0 threaded engagement in an obvious manner. Thus, the rods may bemoved longitudinally of the rail to extend in opposite directions forsupporting the extended pen in upright position, or to be entirelyconcealed within the rail groove when the pen sections are foldedtogether. The extent of movement of the rods is limited by the length ofthe casing slots 25.

The bracing members above described afford adequate support for theerected pen when provided at the four corners of the pen, as shown inFig. 1, so that it is substantially impossible for an infant to tip thepen sidewise; yet the braces are simple and economical to manufacture,easy to assemble in the bottom rails of the pen sections, convenient tooperate, and concealed in a noninterfering location when not in use. Itwill be understood, however, that structural details of the bracingdevices may be varied to so suit particular purposes without departingfrom the essence ofthi's'invention as defined in the following claims.

We claim: 7

1. In combination with. a pen of the type described having foldablesections, bracing means ,for supporting-the extended pen in uprightposition, comprising legs associated with some of the sectionsextendible longitudinally of said sections to bear upon the pensupporting surface and movable inwardly thereofto lie substantiallywithin the com pass of the pen when the sections are folded together.

2. In combination with a foldable penof the type described having endsections provided with bottom rails, bracing means for supporting theextended pen in upright position, comprising legs associated with theopposite ends of said rails and movable outwardly thereof to bearflatwise upon the pen supporting surface in line with their respectiverails and inwardly thereof to lie substantially within the compass ofthe pen when the sections are folded together.

3. In combination with a foldable pen of the type described having endsections provided with bottom rails, bracing means for supporting theextended pen in upright posi tion, comprising legs associated with theopposite ends of said rails and slidable outwardly thereof to bear uponthe pen supporting surface in line with their respective rails andinwardly thereof to lie within the compass of the pen when the sectionsare folded together. v j v 4. In combination with the bottom rail of afoldable pen section, a bracing leg slidable longitudinally of the railbetween its outer and inner sides, means for guiding the leg during saidmovement, and means for limiting said movement in both directionswhereby the leg may be slid outwardly to project a substantial distancebeyond the end of the rail and inwardly past said end. o

5. In a play pen comprising'foldable sections provided with bottomrails, the bottom rail of one of said sectionshaving a longitudinalgroove in its base extending inwardly from one of its ends, a bracingrod mounted for longitudinal movement in said groove, means for guidingthe rod during said movement, a knob for moving the rod, and means forlimiting said movement in both directions, whereby the rod may be slidoutwardly to project asubstantial distance beyond said rail end andinwardly past said end to lie substantially within the compass of thepen when the sections are folded together.

6. In a play pen comprising foldable' sections provided with bottomrails, the bottom 2 rail of one of said sections having a longitudinalgroove in its base extending from end to end ofthe rail, individualbracing rods mounted for longitudinal sliding movement in the oppositeends of said groove, said rail having longitudinal slots in its side,and a member attached to the respective rods and projecting outwardlythrough the respective slots, whereby the rods may be slidoutwardly toproject a substantial distance beyond the rail ends and inwardlypastsaid ends by moving said projecting-members, the extent of saidmovement being limited by the length of said slots. 7

7. In a play pen comprising foldable sections provided with bottomrails, the bottom rail of one of the sections having alongitudinalgroove in its base extending from end to end of the rail, a-reinforcing'casing ap plied over the bottom and upon the sides of said rail,individual bracing rods mounted for independent longitudinal slidingmovement in the opposite ends of said groove, said rail and easinghaving longitudinal slots in the sides thereof, and knobs having stemsaflixed to said rods and projecting outwardly through the respectiveslots whereby the rods may be slid outwardly to project a substantialdistance beyond the rail ends by moving the knobs and inwardly past saidends, the

extent of said movement being limited by the length of the casing slots.

8. A foldable closure comprising frames defining the sides of theclosure, opposite sides being provided with bottom rails havinglongitudinal grooves extending from end-to-end of the rails, individualbracing rods mounted for longitudinal movement disposed in the oppositeends of each of said grooves, and means associated with'each of saidrods for sliding the rod outwardly to project a substantial distancebeyond the respective ends of the rail and inwardlyto lie substantiallywithin the compass of the of said grooves, reenforcing casings securedto said rails, the casings having longitudinal slots communicating withthe grooves in said rails, and means for sliding'the rod outwardly toproject a substantial distance beyond the rail ends and inwardly pastsaid ends to lie substantially within the compass of the closure 'whenfolded, each of said means comprising a knob having a stem secured totheyrespective rods and projecting outwardly through the respectiveslots.

10. A foldable' closure comprising frames defining the walls of arectangular. closure, the ends of the frames being pivoted together todefine three corners of the closure,

opposite end walls having bottom rails providedwith longitudinal groovesextending from end toend of therails,-individua-l bracing rods mountedfor longitudinal movement in the opposite ends of said grooves,reenforcing casings secured to said rails, said casings havinglongitudinal slots communicating with the grooves in said rails,and-knobs having stem portions'pro- 'jecting-through the slotsandsecured to said ro'ds whereby the rods may be slid outwardly toproject a substantial distance beyond the rail ends and inwardly pastsaid ends, the

extent of the movement being limited by the length of the casing slots.

Signed by us at Boston, Mass, this 16t 'day of May,1929. a 1

DE FOREST: ANTHONY.

BEATRICE M. STODDARD,

